Friday, September 04, 2015

5003 My laziness knows no bounds

Friday, September 4, 2015

"Early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious."
-- William Feather --

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I first tried PeaPod grocery service sometime last winter, I think, when it was cold and snowy and I was sick with a cold or something.  Now, since the closest grocery store has closed, I'm pretty much hooked on it.  I haven't been unhappy with anything they've delivered, except a few times when I didn't pay attention to the size of the product and was surprised when I got the giant size of something.  Otherwise, even the selections of produce and meat sent with my order have been good.  In fact, the meat and fresh veggies have been impressive.

The website is easy to use once you figure it out.  They save past orders, so you don't have to hunt for the items you like every time - just bring up your history and select from that for the regular stuff.  You do have to pay for delivery.  I think it might be about $7, but I'm not sure because ever since my first order they send me email coupon codes I can use for free delivery, so I rarely pay that, and if you select less popular delivery time windows, you can get a discount or even free.  You are expected to tip the driver, but that's your decision as to how much, and I'm more than happy to do it.  I just ask myself what it's worth to me not to have to traipse around the store, load and unload the cart, deal with the cashier, pack the car, drive home, and unload the car.  The driver is willing to carry the bags into the kitchen and even put the cold stuff away for you, but I always have them just put it on the porch.  

You can save the delivery charge and tip by picking up your order at the store.  I haven't tried that because as far as I'm concerned that defeats the purpose.  Also, they do take manufacturer's coupons.  You just give them to the driver and it's deducted from the bill.  Again, I don't bother with coupons.  My experience with coupon clipping is that they make me buy things I otherwise would not have bought.

I've always kept a shopping list on paper on the kitchen counter, adding things as I think of it, but PeaPod will keep a running cart list for you between visits, so that's where my shopping list is now.

Daughter snorked at me that the prices were probably higher.  I'd kept receipts from in-person shopping trips at various stores, and no, the prices are the same as I paid in person, with the usual minor difference you'd expect to see between stores.  PeaPod does have sale items clearly marked and recommended.

Something went wrong with this last order.  A quart container of yogurt burst, and the eggs were squashed.  I got credit for them, and the driver said to keep the eggs, there might be some unbroken ones I could use.  Well, the egg carton was a mess, yellow all over and limp and soggy with yogurt, but when I ran water over the mess in the sink, it turned out only the two end eggs were broken, and 10 were unbroken.  I got 10 free eggs.  Cool.

Oh, and the bags!  They don't over pack them, so you get a bunch of large, strong, plastic bags with handles.  You can give them to the driver on your next order for recycling, or you can keep them.  I love them.  I use them to move stuff from the old house to here, and to store stuff here, and just generally whatever.

So, if you have PeaPod.com in your neighborhood, I highly recommend them.  Especially if you like being a hermit.
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Wednesday, September 02, 2015

5002 Invitation - interpret my dream

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place
but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
-- Dorothy Nevill --

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There was a large floor, maybe in a store, or a warehouse, or even maybe on the street?  A box or container had overturned, spilling hundreds of somethings all over.  The somethings were cylindrical, so they rolled and spread out.  They were small enough to fit into a palm.  Whatever they were, they were multi-colored, unusual, and pretty.

I straightened up the container and started picking up the things to put them back.  They felt nice in my hands.  The more I handled them, the more I wanted some, maybe three or four.

I looked all around, and there was no one else around that I could buy them from.  Nobody.  I was the only person.

Should I put them all back?  Could I just take three or four?  After all, they could have rolled away and would likely never be missed.  I'm willing to pay for them, but there's no one to pay.  And if I hadn't picked them up and put them back, a lot more might have been lost or destroyed.  Or should I walk away now, and remove temptation, leave the remaining ones to their fate?
I was frozen, I didn't know what to do.  The big question was , "What should I do?  Can I just take a few?  Would that be wrong?  What should I do?"  In the dream, it was a BIG problem.  Like life or death big.
And then I woke up.
I can't think of any way this applies to anything going on in my life now. 

Theories?
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5001 Cute has changed

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

"Some things have to be believed to be seen."
-- Ralph Hodgson --

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The world of internet cute dogs has been taken over entirely by corgies, pugs, and little yappers whose tongues don't fit in their mouths.  The cat territory now belongs to malformed felines --- cats with insanely stubby legs, or whose noses are so squashed they can't breathe properly, or who have devastating birth defects.

Something's wrong here.  I don't understand.
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Tuesday, September 01, 2015

5000 Reunion misplaced

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.”
-- Plato --

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I've been getting invitations to my 50th college reunion.  It's kind of annoying.

I started out in the class of 1966, but I accelerated and graduated with the class of 1965.  So I get all kinds of news and reunion invitations for 1965, but nothing for 1966.

All my friends, classmates, pinochle buddies, the folks I hung out with in the lounge, went to the world's fair with, joined clubs with, all those folks were from the class of 1966.  I know very few people from 1965.  

1966 doesn't seem to exist.

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4099 I hate utility companies

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
-- Plato --

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Last Friday I had lunch with Piper.  I didn't want to talk business, but he did mention that he thought I'd be very happy with the way we weathered the storm.  I reiterated that I wasn't worried, hadn't been worried, and no I don't need details.  Corporate profits are still at an all-time high.  It'll all come back.

Today I got another report from Progress Energy.  I own a bunch of something called "Contingent Value Obligations".  The damn things are worthless.  We owned stock in Florida Progress, inherited from Jay's mother, and sixteen years ago somebody pulled a quick one, and we got CVOs for our stock.  This is an explanation:
In connection with the acquisition of Florida Progress Corporation, Progress Energy issued 98.6 million CVOs. Each CVO represents the right of the holder to receive contingent payments based on after-tax cash flows above certain levels of four synthetic fuel facilities purchased by subsidiaries of Florida Progress Corporation in October 1999. The CVOs are debt instruments and, under GAAP, are valued at market value. Unrealized gains and losses from changes in market value are recognized in earnings each quarter.  
We're supposed to get checks from the profits of the subsidiaries, when the profits are above a certain level.  Well, in the past sixteen years, due I believe to creative bookkeeping, those subsidiaries have yet to show a profit!  (Above that certain level.)  So all these years later, we/I have yet to see a penny from the "taking" of our stock.  There's got to be something wrong with that.  We're supposed to believe that Progress Energy is still hanging on to subsidiaries that aren't making a profit, and haven't in sixteen years?  Or perhaps that "level" was set ridiculously high?  Every so often I get a letter wherein PE offers to buy the CVOs.  For a few cents each.

Yeah, sure.

Um, no.  I can wait you bastards out.
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Sunday, August 30, 2015

4098 Familial relationship terms

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Guns don't kill people. People who say “Guns don't kill people” kill people. With guns.
--Rob Delaney--

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You know that second-cousin, third-cousin, etc. stuff, and the "once removed"?  I don't understand it.   Not in the slightest.  Is my mother's cousin my second-cousin?  What's my mother's cousin's daughter to me?  Is there any relationship to how many levels we go up to meet a common blood relative, that makes it second, third, etc.?

I know about the first level cousins, aunts and uncles, grand parents, step whatevers, and so on --- the simple stuff.  But once you get into the seconds and thirds, and "removed", I have no idea what it means.  Actually, I doubt that anyone else really does, either.  They just think they do.  At least, every time anyone has used those fancy terms and confused me, I went and looked it up afterward, and they were wrong.  Not that I was able to figure out what term they should have used.  I'm so confused that even the "in-law" stuff doesn't make sense to me.  I'll go find articles about the proper terms on the internet, and I'll read all about it, but as fast as I scroll down, it disappears from my head.

Confusing in-laws:
My husband's sister is my sister-in-law, right?
Her husband is my husband's brother-in-law, right?
But what's my husband's brother-in-law to me (assuming it's not my brother)?
Seems like he should be my brother-in-law-in law.
If I refer to someone as my brother-in-law, everyone automatically assumes I mean my sister's husband, not my husband's brother (or vice versa), even though both are my brother-in-law.
There should be some way to differentiate.

I long ago gave up on all of that.
I always refer to "my husband's sister", "my husband's sister's husband", "my sister's husband", and so on.  It's the only way to convey whom I really mean without confusing anyone.
Least of all me.
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